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Baby fussing at breast before bed-HELP!

I have a 12-week old baby boy, and have recently gone back to work as a teacher. I now pump before I leave for work @ 6 a.m., middle of day @ 11 a.m., and then come home to either nurse him or pump again at around 4 p.m. (I know it would be good to pump more often than this but I don't think that would work very well in the classroom.)

His final nursing before bed is around 6:30 and he is in bed by 7:00. However, since starting back to work (and increasing the number of feedings by bottle), we are having troubles at that final feeding. He will latch on and nurse for a couple minutes, but then breaks off and starts crying. After the initial latch, he will break into a suck-suck-suck-swallow pattern rather than the suck-swallow pattern, and I'm worried that he's getting impatient. I will switch him from side to side a couple times to keep things going, but for the past few nights I have ended up giving him a bottle, which I don't want to keep doing. Please help; if I can't keep this nursing session, I will be down to only 1-2 direct nursing sessions, and I really want to make sure my supply stays up. Thanks in advance for any help you can give!

Re: Baby fussing at breast before bed-HE

Welcome! I'm sorry you're not haing an easier time. It makes me so sad that teachers (and nurses) always seem to have the worst time getting time to pump.

The last feeding of the day is a fussy one for a lot of babies. I think you might want to try pumping abit or expressing some milk onto the nipple before latching baby on. Perhaps if you can start the letdown process going, he won't have to wait so long for the milk to start flowing, and that might make him less impatient. Another thing you could do- and I hate suggesting this to a working mom!!!- would be to co-sleep with him, and see if you can get him to nurse overnight. A lot of babies who resist latching on during the day when they are alert will nurse at night when they are relaxed and sleepy. That nighttime practice might make your daytime sessions easier.

Re: Baby fussing at breast before bed-HE

Edit: ha ha, posted simultaneous to mommal again! So sorry if any repitition in my post! Balancing pumping, bottle feeding and nursing can be tricky, but of course many many moms and babies do so, but sometimes it takes some tweeking. Here are a couple of ideas.

For when you are with your baby, can't you nurse rather than pump? So, that 6 am session could be at the breast, not the pump, and the 4 pm session as well. Is there a reason you are pumping at these times rather than nursing? If it's to make sure you have enough to leave for baby for when you are at work, there are other ways you could try to acheiving that.
When you say "final nursing is at 6:30," what does that mean? Final until when? Even a three month old will usually want to nurse at least once or twice overnight. These nightime sessions can be particularly important if mom is back to work, as not only does it let baby get enough milk (and more time at the breast, which has its own set of benefits) it also helps mom keep her milk supply appropriate.

Re: Baby fussing at breast before bed-HE

At night, DS usually nurses between 12 & 2, though it's been 11:30 or so the past couple of nights. He then nurses again at around 5. I typically take that first feeding and allow my husband to take the 2nd so I can keep sleeping, but I suppose I may have to take that one as well. I had mainly been avoiding it because I'd have to pump anyway when he was done as he usually only takes one side and then goes comatose.

As for the 4 pm session, I've had to pump then because when I've come home, it's been to a baby who has recently been fed. I have asked the people who watch him to hold off on the feeding if possible so I can do it, but so far that hasn't been possible and he has eaten at around 3:30 or so.

I have tried expressing some milk by hand when he is getting impatient and have even ended up squirting him in the face with it so I know there's some there. It has just been a no-go, and it's so frustrating and saddening when he calms down for that bottle, especially since that feeding used to be one of my favorites. Any other help you guys can give would be very greatly appreciated!

Re: Baby fussing at breast before bed-HE

whenever my lo was fussy for our night time feeding (which was somewhat cyclic for the first 3-4 months of his life) i would just hold my ground and tell myself that there is milk in there and that he just had to be patient and wait for it. i didn't want to go down the slippery slope of giving a bottle b/c that was always going to be easier for him. i would just keep switching sides over and over until he was satiated. i also sang songs to him to try to get him to stay calm as he waited for my let down. still now at one year he gets restless waiting (only at night), but i just keep singing and he know he has to keep sucking and wait and his treat will be ready soon!

Re: Baby fussing at breast before bed-HE

When a baby is both bottle and breastfed, there is the possibility of the baby having "flow confusion" which can make baby become resistant at the breast. To combat this, you want to make bottle feeding as much like breastfeeding as possible and also, I would suggest having feedings at the breast as much as possible. If baby is too fussy to nurse at 6:30, as pps suggest, you could consider using other comfort measures and nurse a bit later rather than giving a bottle. Many babies have a fussy time in the evening, many babies refuse to nurse at certain times, and moms who do not have pumped milk or bottles available just have to wait and nurse baby later.

Your babies caregivers can surely adjust your child's feeding scedule so they are not feeding him a half hour before you get there, ready to nurse.

I had mainly been avoiding it because I'd have to pump anyway when he was done as he usually only takes one side and then goes comatose

So you have had to pump if you nurse at that session but not if you do not? It is normal for a baby to only take one side per feeding-are you so overfull on the non-taken side you are uncomfortable? Maybe in that case you could hand express jut a bit to feel comfortable enough to go back to sleep?

Re: Baby fussing at breast before bed-HE

Thank you all for your helpful advice. We had one bad feeding session and one wonderful feeding session tonight, so at least my hope is restored a bit.

@lllmeg: The quote you pulled was referring to my morning pumping, and yes, I would have to pump before heading off to work, otherwise it would be about 10 hours (1:30ish till my 11 a.m. pumping session) for whichever breast he feeds off of in the middle of the night. So regardless of whether I nurse him, I would have to pump. I am up at 5:30 to head off to work by 6:30.

I have tried expressing some milk onto the nipple, but that hasn't seemed to help. The thing is, his initial latch is fine. He'll nurse through let-down, but it's a few minutes into the nursing session that he starts to get worked up. I suppose this is when the flow slows down a bit and he has to work for it a little more. I have not tried walking and rocking while nursing, but I will do that, and I will certainly talk to my daycare person about the afternoon feeding.